"You called?"

Sora could feel a sense of pure anger bubbling up from within him. He summoned his keyblade and looked around for the source of the voice but found nothing. He turned to Donald and Goofy, who looked just as confused as he did. They all ran from the viewing platform out into the open. There was no one there.

"You seem well." Another disembodied voice. It sounded slightly different from the first one. Once again Sora found himself to be uncharacteristically angry at the mere thought of who these voices could belong to.

"Who's that!?" He shouted out.

"The Keyblade... a truly marvelous weapon. Where it in more…capable hands. Tell me, where does your confidence come from... brave one chosen by the Keyblade?" There was a sense of mockery coming from the newcomer. Out in the distance, a familiar swirl of darkness echoed through the air. On the castle wall six hooded figures appeared off in the distance. Around them several of those nobodies appeared. Dusks, he thinks they were called.

Leon gasped in surprise. Behind him the entrance to the bailey was cut off with strange black and white barriers resembling an "X".

Sora glared at the newcomers. He knew who they were, Master Yen Sid told him their name. Sora gritted his teeth, "Organization XIII!"

"Organization XIII!"

Before they could be outed into the open, a familiar barrier appeared separated them and Sora. The Dusks that were in the area retried back into nothingness, leaving Axel Roxas and Xion both relieved and confused.

They stopped to gather what happened, no one dared to lower their guard. Only a fool would disarm themselves in a situation as dire as this one. Off in the distance, Xion paled as the voice of their ex-superior rang out.

"Your overconfidence in your real ability will be your undoing." Xemnas's words cut through her. He wasn't just taunting Sora but warning him as well. "You're just a conceited little boy who needs to be taught a lesson."

The sound of a short battle came from around the corner. Roxas's hand twitched, he wanted to summon his keyblade so badly. Xemnas here. Their Master, their Superior, the leader of the Organization was only a few hundred feet away. One of the many people who had a hand in tearing Roxas and his friends apart. And yet, he couldn't bring himself to go out into open where Sora was and join the fight. He glanced at Xion and Axel. If Xemnas laid eyes in them, they would all be doomed.

Axel placed his hand over the boy's shoulder he brought his finger up to his lip before moving right next to the barrier. The other two looked scared but placed themselves against the wall. Still out of sight from Sora and the Organization, but now they were close enough to listen at the confrontation.

"Come down here so we can settle this!" Sora shouted. Which only served to confirm Roxas's belief of his Somebody being a reckless idiot.

"What a shame, and here I thought we could be friends."

Xion's mouth opened up in shock. Xigbar, the Organization's second member was being the same sarcastic asshole as always. But if Xigbar was here, was the rest of the Organization here was well?

Her question was answered as a chorus of mocking laughter rang out from the other members.

A quick yelp projected out, followed by hiss of pain. Axel closed his eyes and kept his face passive. It didn't take long to realize what the Organization was doing. Sora, for now, was in no real danger. They were toying with him, testing the boy's limit. Poking and prodding at the young wielder hoping to make him snap. With Sora still recovering from the mess that was Castle Oblivion he was far too weak to be of any use for Organization. For now at least, the Organization had plans but for that they would need Sora to become stronger.

"Quack! There's more of them!"

A common Dusk is slightly on par with a Shadow, but even the rogue trio knew Dusks in large numbers could become overwhelmingly strong.

"Leon! Watch out!"

"Wha- AGH!"

The sound of laughter turned to cheering. "Come on kid! You can do it!" Despite his anger towards the Organization, there was one-person who Roxas didn't blame at all. How Demyx came to join the Organization will forever be a mystery. But it was obvious he was probably the only one there will no malice intent.

They heard Xigbar snicker, "Come on, cheer him on like you mean it."

Sora was panting. He must have been exhausted by now yet he kept going. "So? Who's next!"

Roxas glared and let out a harsh whisper, "That idiot doesn't know when to shut up, does he?"

"Let me give you some good advice, tiger." It was Xigbar again. "You're not maximizing the powers of the Keyblade." He pointed out, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. It struck a nerve with Axel and Roxas for different reasons. What does Xigbar know about the keyblade? He doesn't even have one.

More laughter rang out, followed by the sound of dark corridors. One by one the Organization members disappeared.

"Wack? Stop!" The sound of webbed feet slapping against concrete pavement before coming to a stop at the sound of another corridor opening. "What's the big idea!" Donald quacked in frustration.

"Oopsie-daisy!" Xigbar again.

Xion was confused, so very confused. Why was Xigbar out of all the members, the one antagonizing Sora the most? Xemnas and Saix she could understand, but Xigbar? It made no sense.

"Move!" Sora demanded.

Xigbar just laughed, "You know he used to give me that exact look!" His laugh sent a chill down everyone's spine.

Clearly it struck a nerve with Sora, "I guess you think you can psych me out by saying really random stuff!"

"As if," There it was, his signature catchphrase, "You need to practice your moves tiger. Or else he would have disappeared for nothing... Well, be a good boy now."

Roxas mind froze. Did Xigbar think he was dead? That he had returned to Sora and just... disappeared? Was it just Xigbar? Or did the rest of the Organization assume he was gone. Some of the only people who of this existence suddenly no longer believed he was still alive. What would they do if they suddenly knew he was alive? No, it wasn't just him. He realized they didn't mention Xion at all. Did they think she was gone too? Forget what would happen if they found him. What would happen if they found her. And Axel had the chance to bring them both back but chose to run away as well. They knew he was out there, somewhere. For now Axel wasn't on the Organization's radar. But no doubt they would take him out the second he made himself known.

"Roxas!" He looked up to see Axel and Xion getting up, their faces hidden by the shadow of their hoods.

"Come on bud, we need to go, now." Axel ushered him and Xion back to the borough. From the corner of his eye Roxas could see the barricade the Organization set up was gone. If they stayed any longer no doubt they'd be discovered.

Sora's voice still lingered in the distance, "-weird. Who gave him a weird look?"

Roxas kept his lips close, but the there was another part of him that wanted to say... 'I did.'

The sky around the bailey dulled for a moment before a keyhole appeared in the sky. A bright beam of light shot up from the ground before hitting the keyhole.

Sora watched as the sky returned to normal. "Oh... now I get it. That must've been the gate Yen Sid talked about."

The gate between worlds is now open, which means his adventure will now have to continue. But... he looked at Donald, Goofy and Leon. They all looked absolutely beat. From the distance there was a flicker of black. Near the bailey a shadowy figure peeked from the corner.

'Another Organization member?!' He thought to himself.

Before he could react, the Organization member lifted their arm at him. A green glow surrounded him and his friends. To his surprise the aching in his body began to fade away. He looked in awe as the bruises on his arms and legs began to disappear.

He could hear Leon sigh out in relief, "Thanks for the heal Donald."

Sora looked back to where he last saw the figure. "But Donald didn't..." his voice trailed off when he saw there was nobody there anymore.

"Garwsh, did you say something Sora." Goofy asked.

Sora snapped out of his little trance. "Huh? Nah, just thinking out loud."

Leon brushed himself off, "So Organization XIII huh? They look tough."

"Nothing we can't handle." Sora countered.

Leon chuckled, "Well I'm sure the others will want to hear about those guys. Why don't you Donald and Goofy stay over for dinner."

Sora wanted to protest but the rumbling in his stomach beat him too it. He smiled sheepishly. "Uh, I think that answers that."

Leon chuckled a bit, "Come on, I think Aerith is making dinner, so don't get your hopes up."

Merlin and Aerith walked along the market to gather ingredients for tonight's meal. Leon had convinced Sora and his friends to stay the night. Hopefully, it would give them time to catch up on the year they missed. Ever since Sora left the year prior, the self-proclaimed "Hollow Bastion recreation committee" had been busy restoring their world back to its former glory. It had been a slow process not mentioning all the various setbacks mostly caused by heartless attacks. Then somewhere along the way they just... forgotten about the boy who saved the worlds. That was up until a week ago when a Merlin brought in a strange pair of brothers.

One of them Aerith recognized. Last time she saw the red head he was just a trouble making boy who always tried to break into the castle. Lea, or Axel as he now called himself. He had grown, now he towered over her... Along with Axel, there was a boy who he claimed to be his brother, Roxas. There was something about the blond that she couldn't place her finger on. He looked familiar, when she looked at him, it was like she was seeing someone else instead. His light burned so bright, yet it felt like his light was threatening to snuff itself out. Then a few days after they arrived, they just disappeared. Not that she was surprised, Axel seemed very secretive whenever they interacted. He even went as far as to use Reno's identity as his own.

They were just gone. And yet she still found herself visiting their house. Occasionally she would enter to check if anyone came back. She made sure to the kitchen had some food and working water. She had a feeling; she hasn't seen the last of Axel and Roxas.

Then Sora appeared... so did their memories of him. Aerith had a feeling, that somehow it was all connected. But how?

The safe house, as Xion recalled, is where Axel and Roxas hid for a while before they were found by Riku. It was small by cozy, not that she minded. Especially after knowing they would be spending the night there. After all, she may or may not have lingered by in the Bailey to cast a small cure spell on Sora and his friends. Axel scolded her slightly for being reckless but was relieved to know that they were safe for the moment.

So now she laid in a bed at that wasn't hers, in a house she had nothing to do with waiting for her eyes to close. Tomorrow Sora would leave Hollow Bastion to who knows what world. She may not have felt as weak as before, but she was still nervous. Unlike Roxas, she couldn't feel her keyblade at all anymore. Roxas could still summon his, both of his to be exact. It was just like the first time she lost her keyblade. There was an overwhelming sense of fear. How was she supposed to protect herself without her keyblade? Once again, she was the weak link. Without her keyblade all she was doing was hold Axel and Roxas back. She was usele-

'No,' She thought to herself, 'I'm not useless.'

Xion sat up in the bed and began to take deep breaths. 'You were never useless. Magic... I'm still good at magic. I've always been good at magic.

As her breathing began to even out, she felt upset at herself. She almost called herself useless, she almost believed it too. Axel and Roxas would never let anyone call her useless, much less herself. If she wanted to be helpful until her keyblade returned, the first thing she had to change was the way she looked at herself.

'My name is Xion, My best friends are Roxas and Axel. We're on the run, but we're running together.' In her hands she cradled a small flame, 'I may not be able to use the keyblade now, but-' With a flick of her wrist the fire in her hand jumped to a nearby candle, 'I'll fight for them. One way or another.'

She smiled as the candle flickered in agreement. With that she laid back down on her bed and closed her eyes.

A/N: So that's it for Hollow Bastion, next top iiiss... hmm... Guess we'll just have to wait and see. As for what the rating would be if it was a movie… I suppose it'd be either a T rating mostly for swearing.

As always feel free to comment and review.